Greece, often called the Cradle of Western Civilization, has given us
democracy, the Olympic Games, and most importantly olive oil, over the
centuries. And their mythologies with intriguing characters like Heracles (better
known as Hercules), and flawed gods like Zeus and Hera, have been a font of
knowledge and wisdom over the centuries.
The ancient Greeks to explain the forces of nature created a vast and diverse pantheon of gods, which very much to my delight was extremely organized.
So without further ado let’s begin at the beginning:
In the beginning there was Chaos (from whom emerged a whole host of Primordial Deities),
which was very ….. chaotic? And amidst this Chaos emerged
Erebus,
the mysterious dwelling place of death, and Nyx,
the personification of darkness or night (because nothing good ever comes out
of Chaos).
Or maybe the ancient Greeks wanted their kids to scare their kids into cleaning
their rooms and not make a chaotic mess of it.
Pretty soon the universe had had enough of Chaos, Death, and Darkness and so Love (the light of life) was created. Love brought order to the world (because love conquers all) and brought about the union of Erebus and Nyx, from whence emerged Aether (the divine light), and Hemera (day). But Nyx being the personification of darkness didn’t like her light-y (?) kids, and created Doom, Fate, Death, Sleep, and Nemesis among her other dark children who shared her passion of haunting mankind.
Love also brought about the creation of Gaea, the earth. Gaea, on her own created Uranus, the sky, who later became her husband, because he surrounded her on all sides and was her equal. But if Gaea created Uranus, wasn’t he like her son? And if he was then how come she married him? Gross if you ask me. But moving on….
Gaea and Uranus had many kids, the twelve Titans (Mnemosyne, Tethys, Theia, Phoebe, Rhea, Themis, Oceanus, Hyperion, Coeus, Crius, Iapetus, and Kronos), three cyclopes (Brontes, Steropes, and Arges), three Hecatoncheires (Briareos, Kottos, and Gyges) who had fifty faces and hundred arms each. The Titans were all powerful beings, but the others though skilled were ugly.
Very soon Uranus’ cruel and heartless side was revealed, and he fashioned chains of darkness and bound the cyclopes and hecatoncheires and threw them deep into Tartarus. Well clearly the guy had issues, I mean it’s hard to top your wife creating you out of nothing.
That said, no wonder Gaea was supremely pissed at her husband. She assembled the Titans and decided on a ploy to kill Uranus (you know your typical family meeting). But while Uranus would never be the Dad of the Year, he was the Ruler of the Cosmos and the Titans were wary of killing him.
Finally, Kronos (also called the crooked one), and the youngest of the Titans stepped forward to kill his father. Gaea pleased with him fashioned a scythe with a piece of iron summoned from her depths and handed it to Kronos and promised him that he would be ruler of the cosmos after he killed his father. Kronos looked at his siblings and asked them to help him. Only four of his brothers Hyperion, Iapetus, Coeus, and Crius stepped forward to help him. In return he promised to let them rule the four corners of the earth. This part is weird because the Greeks believed the earth to be round.
So the next time when Uranus lay with Gaea, Kronos and his brothers ambushed Uranus and Kronos cut his father into pieces while his brothers held their father down. As he was dying Uranus cursed Kronos that one day his children would usurp his throne in a similar way. After killing his father Kronos threw the pieces into the ocean, probably to spite his brother Oceanus who hadn’t taken part in the murder. You know how sibling rivalry works.
From the pieces of Uranus that fell in the ocean emerged a goddess of great beauty Aphrodite (who we’re gonna talk about later), and from the drops of his golden blood ichor, which fell on the earth were created various creatures, viz. the Giants, Satyrs, Meliae (Ash Tree Nymphs), Erinnyes, etc.
After the death of Uranus, Kronos as promised became the Ruler of the Cosmos, and his brothers started ruling the four directions Hyperion the East, Iapetus the West, Crius the South, and Coeus the West. This whole tale of usurpation of a father’s rule by the son and the creation of the universe as we know it has been immortalized in the Theogony.
The ancient Greeks to explain the forces of nature created a vast and diverse pantheon of gods, which very much to my delight was extremely organized.
So without further ado let’s begin at the beginning:
Chaos
Pretty soon the universe had had enough of Chaos, Death, and Darkness and so Love (the light of life) was created. Love brought order to the world (because love conquers all) and brought about the union of Erebus and Nyx, from whence emerged Aether (the divine light), and Hemera (day). But Nyx being the personification of darkness didn’t like her light-y (?) kids, and created Doom, Fate, Death, Sleep, and Nemesis among her other dark children who shared her passion of haunting mankind.
Love also brought about the creation of Gaea, the earth. Gaea, on her own created Uranus, the sky, who later became her husband, because he surrounded her on all sides and was her equal. But if Gaea created Uranus, wasn’t he like her son? And if he was then how come she married him? Gross if you ask me. But moving on….
Gaea and Uranus: Starry eyed with each other (pity the love didn't last)
Gaea and Uranus had many kids, the twelve Titans (Mnemosyne, Tethys, Theia, Phoebe, Rhea, Themis, Oceanus, Hyperion, Coeus, Crius, Iapetus, and Kronos), three cyclopes (Brontes, Steropes, and Arges), three Hecatoncheires (Briareos, Kottos, and Gyges) who had fifty faces and hundred arms each. The Titans were all powerful beings, but the others though skilled were ugly.
Very soon Uranus’ cruel and heartless side was revealed, and he fashioned chains of darkness and bound the cyclopes and hecatoncheires and threw them deep into Tartarus. Well clearly the guy had issues, I mean it’s hard to top your wife creating you out of nothing.
That said, no wonder Gaea was supremely pissed at her husband. She assembled the Titans and decided on a ploy to kill Uranus (you know your typical family meeting). But while Uranus would never be the Dad of the Year, he was the Ruler of the Cosmos and the Titans were wary of killing him.
Finally, Kronos (also called the crooked one), and the youngest of the Titans stepped forward to kill his father. Gaea pleased with him fashioned a scythe with a piece of iron summoned from her depths and handed it to Kronos and promised him that he would be ruler of the cosmos after he killed his father. Kronos looked at his siblings and asked them to help him. Only four of his brothers Hyperion, Iapetus, Coeus, and Crius stepped forward to help him. In return he promised to let them rule the four corners of the earth. This part is weird because the Greeks believed the earth to be round.
So the next time when Uranus lay with Gaea, Kronos and his brothers ambushed Uranus and Kronos cut his father into pieces while his brothers held their father down. As he was dying Uranus cursed Kronos that one day his children would usurp his throne in a similar way. After killing his father Kronos threw the pieces into the ocean, probably to spite his brother Oceanus who hadn’t taken part in the murder. You know how sibling rivalry works.
From the pieces of Uranus that fell in the ocean emerged a goddess of great beauty Aphrodite (who we’re gonna talk about later), and from the drops of his golden blood ichor, which fell on the earth were created various creatures, viz. the Giants, Satyrs, Meliae (Ash Tree Nymphs), Erinnyes, etc.
After the death of Uranus, Kronos as promised became the Ruler of the Cosmos, and his brothers started ruling the four directions Hyperion the East, Iapetus the West, Crius the South, and Coeus the West. This whole tale of usurpation of a father’s rule by the son and the creation of the universe as we know it has been immortalized in the Theogony.
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